Masters of the World
by DragonSoulofFire
Summary: This is a story of a 16 year old boy who has been hurt and scared both physically and otherwise. With no where left to turn he is left with an impossible, yet inescapable choice. Now watch as this broken teen becomes a strong and powerful young man, under the guidance of a former enemy. And see as they face trial after trial, striving to be MotW. DannyxVlad FatherxSon Fic.
1. Hurt

**Most of my inspiration for this story comes from D** **eadlydaisy8o8 and her story,** **Running to the Enemy's Arms** **. That means you will find a similar plot lines and some similar concepts in this story. I'm not trying to steal Deadlydaisy's Ideas, I simply admire her work and wanted to throw my own story in and mix it with a little bit of theirs.**

 **Either way, I have been thinking of this story for a very long time and even started writing it a while ago. Only just now did I come back around and decide to continue it. I do not know how often I'll be updating but I wanted to post the first chapter to give myself more of an incentive to actually finish the story.**

 **Be sure to review if you have anything you want to say about the story, and follow if you want to know when I release my next chapter. Also I don't have a beta reader so don't judge TO harshly. Now without further Ado... Masters of the World.**

 **~Dragon~**

* * *

"And that's the last one." Sam said as another nameless ghost was sucked into the Fenton thermos.

"Yep!" Tucker chimed in and stretched his arms up into the air with a giant yawn."Now can we please hit the hay? I'm exhausted." 'And you don't think I'm not?' I mentally complained. I floated down to the floor and let a big yawn of my own escape me. Transforming back into my human counterpart, we walked out of the warehouse where the last escaped ghost had been hiding.

Tonight was busier than usual considering Tucker had dropped the thermos earlier in the day, and all the ghosts that I had captured since I left the house that morning had escaped.

That's not even the best part though. They were mad at ME because there were a lot more ghost in there then they knew about. Well of course I couldn't bring them with me on every single ghost hunt! Do you know how big this city is? And how many ghosts are actually haunting it?

If I were to tell Sam and Tuck about every single ghost that wanders through the streets, they would probably never sleep again. It wouldn't even be possible for them considering I have to split myself up to do it half the time. I could barely keep up with them all, and I have super ghost speed and all that. How in the Hell would I protect this town if I had to wait for them to 'help' me.

It's not that I don't appreciate them and their concern, but come on. Why am I getting scolded because I want them to actually have some sleep and passing grades? Whatever. They'll get over it.

I would like to blame my bitterness on how tired I was right now. I had to take down about twice as many ghosts tonight than usual. But I can't do that because I never let my feelings impair my judgment over something, especially on judgment of character. Unless there's an immediate threat, then I've learned to whole heartedly trust my gut. It's saved me more then once.

I also hate that I'm still hiding the number of ghosts to my friends. When they asked me for the real number of ghosts in the thermos, I had only told them about a third of them, which was still more than they knew about before.

Even now I have a duplicate secretly fighting three more ghosts at a time about seven blocks away from here.

As soon as I get these guys to their house, I'll have to go take care of the rest of the ghosts, not to mention whoever else decides that tonight is a good as night as any, to come out of the ghost zone, and haunt more innocent people.

"Sounds like a plan." I said as we walked down the street towards Sam's mansion.

"Hey you guys can crash the night at my house. I know it's late and stuff so if you want-"

"Hell ya!" Tucker replied to Sam before she could even finish talking. "Your house is the BEST Sam. Wait till you see the bowling alley Danny, It's amazing!"

"You have a bowling alley in your house?" I asked Sam.

"Well ya." She said bashfully. "You never really did get to see the inside of my house did you?"

"Well thanks, but as much as I'd love to, I'll have to pass." I said sadly. And it was true. I really needed the extra energy tonight.

"What?! Dude! Why not?" Tucker yelled out, uncaring that it was the middle of the night and there were houses, most likely with sleeping people, all around us.

"Because Tuck," I started trying to emphasize my whispering to him, to quiet him down. "My parents are probably already pissed!" Which was true. "If they wake up tomorrow morning and they see that I'm not in bed, I'll be grounded for life." Also true.

"I could just call them and tell them that you're spending the night" Sam said trying to convince me. Crap, what should I say? I was silent for a second acting like I was considering her offer.

"They're probably already asleep." I finally said, which was a lie, but I needed to get them off my back. "If we call them now, they won't get the message until after they've had a panic attack tomorrow morning. Plus, they'll be even more mad for not calling them and telling them sooner." I finished. My parent were actually very awake. They always were no matter how late I came home.

It's why I had to master making at least one duplicate so I can appear human, and fight ghosts at the same time. I was almost always home on time now, unless I was out with Sam and Tucker, then I had to take the fall so that if they ended up walking me home, they wouldn't get suspicious about why my parents had thought I already was home.

It's also why I had the stamina to use a duplicate for so long tonight, even with all the fighting. Of course it was exhausting, but I was willing to do it for my friends. Just until I get home, after that I can go finish off the ghosts myself, well my WHOLE self, then hopefully get some rest.

"Alright man whatever you say." Tucker said brushing me off easily. I was slightly annoyed at him. It was his fault we were out so late anyway, he could at least show some concern about how much trouble I was going to get in.

"OK Danny." Sam said a little more skeptically. She was always a smart one. "If you think you should. We'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure sure. Just not till later in the day alright? I want to sleep in," I lied. I never got to sleep in. Even on a Saturday. Why should I get to sleep-in? The ghosts who are constantly attacking the town don't, so I won't either.

"K. See ya Danny." she said walking up the porch to her mansion.

"Bye dude!" Tucker waved following her. I waved back. Once the door was closed I turned and continued up to my own house only a few blocks farther.

Now that I was alone I let my posture slump. I was getting light headed from all the energy I've been using. I walked up my porch and opened my door. As expected, my parents were right there waiting.

* * *

I closed the door to my room, sinking to the floor. My parents had made me do all the chores that I had missed while I was out all before I 'went to bed' as a punishment. I felt like I was going to faint. I had recalled and sent out my duplicate at least three times since I got home trying to fight off all the ghosts. It was 5 in the morning now, almost dawn, and I was still sans sleep.

I trudged into bed, not even taking off my shoes and slumped onto it without a shred of care for my comfort. Closing my eyes I was about to welcome sweet oblivion when I felt the appearance of another ghost, and seconds later, heard a laugh."

"Well, twerp. A little tired aren't we?" Skulker said in an arrogant tone. "I've come to collect your pelt for my mantle. I have a new weapon to try out, and with you in your weakened state, it's the perfect time to test it out."

I wrenched my eyes open and forced myself to climb out of bed. Keeping my movements quick as to never show any weakness.

"In your dreams Skulker, you're going back to the ghost zone, new weapon or not." I said transforming into my ghostly self. I had to stick to the basics of my powers if I was going to do this. No ice energy, small plasma shots, no duplicates, and keep invisibility at a minimum.

"Ah so he does have some energy left." Skulker said crossing his arms. "I'll just have to change that." Mini missile launchers popped up on his shoulders and he fired. I went intangible and they hit my wall behind me.

"My room!" Come on dude!" My parents, or my mom anyway, is probably awake for sure after that. Probably Jazz as well. Great, now I had to rush.

I fired a few shot at him, and lead him into the lab before anyone could walk in and see us fighting. We kept at it for what felt like eternity to me, but was probably only about a minuet. Skulker fired his new weapon at me multiple times, but it seemed to not work as it didn't shoot anything.

"That all you got you bucket of bolts? I said falling back to my sarcasm as to not seem weak. I could feel myself about to change back into a human. And I just couldn't do that. Not yet.

Skulker ground his teeth. "He said this would work instantly!" He rage shouting at his new weapon. I narrowed my eyes the display. What was it supposed to do?

"Looks like 'he' lied." I said bending my fingers as air quotes around he. Skulker turned to look at me baring his robotic teeth. He jumped at me and I prepared to take the hit. Just before he hit his mark, a loud sucking noise and a vortex stopped him in his tracks before he was sucked into the Fenton thermos held by none other than Jasmine.

"You really should be more quiet in your fights." She said. I glared at her.

"Thanks Jazz." Was all I said before I started to float back up to my room.

"I'm serious Danny!" She called. I stopped to stare down at her. "Mom was about to bust into your room with all this ghost equipment, but I convinced her I just dropped something and the rest was just apart of a dream she had. You need to be more responsible if you're going to fight ghosts around her." I glared more intensely at her.

"How can I be more responsible with ghost fighting Jazz? It's not like I even want to fight ghosts." I said barely trying to make a good argument. I needed some sleep. Now.

"It doesn't matter how Danny. You just have to do it." She answered. I snorted and flew through the ceiling into my room. "WE AREN'T FINISHED WITH THIS CONVERSATION!" She yelled as I passed through it.

Once again I slumped down into bed, but this time, the sweet sweet oblivion came.


	2. Used

**Alright, so I wasn't planning on updating so early and adding the second chapter in BUT I also didn't plan on writing for 8 hours yesterday like I did. That means I had a small stockpile of chapters already written and I'm to excited to hear what you guys think of them. Of course I'm not going to add them all at once or anything, but I was to impatient to wait and add at least the second one. I have no idea how I'm going to wait to add the others.**

 **Thank you**

 **Angel Weasel-Woman for being my very first review**

 **Danny Stone for being my very first follower and**

 **HP1ink for being my very first favorite**

 **You guy are awesome!**

 **Thank you everyone else who's done so after them, each one means a lot to me and it motivates me to continue writing when I know others enjoy reading them. And now I hope you all enjoy the next chapter in Masters of the World**

 **~Dragon~**

* * *

Waking up felt weird. It was slow and I was groggy. Very unlike how I've been waking up for the last few months. It almost felt like things were back to normal, and I never had to fight ghosts in the first place.

But as we all know. All good things must come to an end.

"DANNY!" I heard someone yell from far away. "DANNY WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!" There it was again, but it was a lot closer this time. "COME ON DANNY!" I was shaken awake by Tucker.

"What what I'm up!" I jump to my feet, wobbled a bit, and got into a fighting position almost instantly. "Who is it? Skulker?" But I took him out last night he couldn't already be back.

"Dude."

"Technus?" I'm pretty sure he was in the thermos from yesterday though.

"Dude!" A shiver went up my spine as another enemy came to mind.

"Plasmius?" He hasn't attacked since he resigned his mayor position after 'the event'. Another shiver went up my spine as my mind began to wander to that day.

"DUDE!" Tucker yelled finally getting my attention. "Chillax, there's no one attacking." I froze for a moment registering his words before I slumped back down into bed.

"What the heck Tuck?" I said letting my eyes fall closed again.

"Sorry dude, but it's already like eight, and there's this thing going on at the park. We should all go." He seemed to hyped to be even remotely sorry.

"Since when is eight sleeping in Tuck?" groaning in annoyance.

"Since you got your ghost powers man. You never sleep past seven anymore. Usually you're up way before us." He was right of course. I sat up, skeptical of why I wasn't up earlier now. A ghost of one kind or another has never once failed to get me out of bed before seven. So why not today? It must be a fluke. "Anyways," Tucker resumed, "Hurry up and get ready so we can go. Sam and I will be waiting downstairs." He stepped out of my room and closed my door as he said the last word, leaving no room for any kind of argument.

With a great sigh I heaved myself out of bed. A sudden weight dropped in my stomach and my throat contracted. I threw my hand over my mouth and bent over my bed willing the acid in my stomach to go back down. After a moments, the feeling lessoned and I removed my hand from my mouth. 'Why is my stomach so upset?' I wondered. I barely ate anything yesterday, having to skip breakfast, and only eating half my lunch before taking off. And dinner had been out of the question because of Tuck's little accident. So it's not like I could have really eaten anything TO bad. And it wasn't like I could really get a cold or flu, being a ghost and all. Sighing again I slowly stood up, gripping my head when I felt the blood start to rush to it.

I walked over to my dresser and threw on a shirt that didn't have holes or burns in it yet. 'I would have to get some new ones soon.' I thought. Every time I had gotten any kind of money from my parents I went to this one store and bought their cheapest pair of shirts and pants over and over again. Sometimes in bulk, if I had enough. Which is why I always looked like I was wearing the same thing.

If anyone noticed, no one had said anything or cared enough to realize it yet so I'll just keep doing it until someone does.

If I ever got money and by chance I didn't need any clothes, then it would be spent on bandages and medical ointment. I could always use more. Heaven forbid if I ever got another nasty wound only to realize later that I couldn't treat it again. That one ended up being one of the worst scars I have, since I could do nothing but let it heal naturally. At least it was from my hip to the bottom of my ribs, no one would see it unless I took my shirt off around them. Which isn't going to happen.

I had to start changing in the bathroom though before and after PE. Dash had started calling me a prude because of it. Eh, it wasn't his worst insult.

Once I was done dressing I dragged myself into the bathroom, quickly brushing my teeth and combing through my hair. I'd try and take a shower later not having the time right now. I glanced up and the mirror before making my way out of the bathroom, but glanced away as soon as I did. I hated my appearance. I knew I didn't look healthy. I was too pale, like sickly pale. My hair looked dead, and I was way to skinny for it to be ok. Not that anyone could really tell what with the baggy shirts and pants that barely fit around my hips. Not to mention I looked like I was twelve even though my sixteenth birthday had just recently passed. I should have hit puberty by now, but I hadn't. It must be connected to me being part ghost. Oh well, nothing I could do about it.

I made my way downstair relishing in the smell of the sweet bacon that wafted past me. My mouth began to water and my stomach rumbled at the thought of food. As hungry as I was, anything halfway decent would have smelt amazing. So you can imagine how great the bacon must have smelt.

"There you are Danny!" Tuck said, "now let's go! We're gonna be late." He grabbed my arm and began tugging me out the door.

"Hold on Tuck" I said pulling him back, but unsuccessfully stopping him, "there's still breakfast."

"It's fine Danny we already ate." Tucker said. My eyes narrowed. How self important can you be?

"I meant for me." I said giving one last unsuccessful tug reaching for a piece of bacon still on the table.

"Geeze Danny. That's a little selfish don't you think?" Sam said. "It's your fault that you woke up late anyways. You could always just buy something there you know." I ground my teeth at her word, but held my tongue. She was probably just excited about whatever it was going on at the park, and upset at the thought of being late. I sighed and allowed Tucker to drag me out the door knowing that I wouldn't be able to buy anything later, needing the money for new clothes and medicine.

* * *

I knew it was a concert as soon as I stepped foot into the grass of the park. Food trucks were scattered about everywhere with people all around but most were grouped up around a stage. Some sat farther out sitting on blankets eating a nice lunch with their friends or family, while others who weren't quite sure of what was going on looked on in slight interest.

I cringed at the idea of listening to insanely loud music with the pounding headache that was currently making movement harder than it should have been. I took deep breaths determined not to let the headache stop me from hanging out with my friends. Opportunities to just hangout with them had been rare since ghosts started attacking Amity more frequently.

Tucker and Sam dragged me toward the stage, stopping only when we were all the way to the front. I had apologized to at least twenty people who were push aside in my friend's haste. They really should be more considerate. I thought about telling them this for a moment, but before I could make a decision, people, presumably the band walked up on stage.

The took their place by their chosen instrument and their singer took his spot up front with the microphone. My headache flared as he loudly announced who each of their members where, what their band name was, and what songs they planned on signing. I gritted my teeth for the second time that day, grabbing my head in pain. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on something other than the noise and the pounding of my head.

As the song went on, my headache got worse. The weight in my stomach from earlier that morning returned. I stumbled as someone in the crowded jolsted me forward, and I almost went crashing into the stage. I was given an angry look by the guards standing around the performance area to make sure no one bothered the band. I smiled at him then stepped back only to find that my spot had been taken up by another person already.

"Hey, go get your own spot!" They said as I tried to squeeze back into the crowd.

"But-"

"Is there a problem here?" The guard asked as he walked up putting his big bear of a hand on my shoulder.

"N-"

"YA! This kid is trying to push his way into my spot. I've been here the whole time, and suddenly he gets here and just tries to push me out of the way." The person told the guard. My eyebrows furrowed as they kept talking. Anger washed through me, and the urge to use my ghost powers emerged, but I stomped them down before they even had a chance to present themselves in my mind.

"Hey that's not-"

"Is that right?" The guard interrupted me, his hand tightening on my shoulder.

"No!" I almost yelled at him. "You can ask my friends I was here before the band even started playing." I indicated to Sam and Tuck who looked like they had just noticed what was going on.

"You with this kid?" The guard asked in an almost threatening tone. Sam and Tucker glanced at each other before shaking their head no.

"WHAT?" But Guys-"

"That's enough!" The guard said grabbing by the back cuff of my shirt and picking me up easily. "You're coming with me." I huffed and crossed my arms as he carried me away. As we rounded the corner of the crowd I saw the random person laughing, probably happy about her success in getting a better spot. Sam and Tuck continued dancing to the music as if nothing ever happened. 'So much for spending time with my friends.' I thought.

* * *

"You're going to sit there till the concert is done, got it?" Said the guard as he set me down in a chair at the Park's security office. I huffed but nodded, knowing it was useless to fight him. He would just call the police, and then I would be in even bigger trouble. He walked away, telling the officer at the desk about what happened, or what he believed happened anyway. The other officer nodded and the guard left, probably back to the concert.

I let my head fall back against the wall behind me and winced at the contact. 'At least I don't have to listen to the music now.' I thought as I remembered my headache and it flared up again. I closed my eye concentrating on the rhythmic sounds of the officer typing away on his computer. Soon, it was all I could do to not throw up.

I almost wretched as my ghost scene went off, my body mistaken it as the need to throw up.

'Uhg, why now?' I thought. 'I shouldn't really be complaining though considering I've gone all morning without having a problem. But that's probably because I didn't have a duplicate patrolling like usual, and I was just getting lucky enough that none of them have come into my area. Until now that is. I sighed in resignation, swallowing my sickness down.

I looked around the room noticing the multiple cameras all around. Of course there would be cameras in the security office.

"Excuse me?" I said trying to get the guards attention. He glared over at me as if distracting him from his work was a crime. "I-is there a bathroom in here?" He pointed up at a sign on the roof clearly showing the bathroom symbols. Of course I had seen it. I noticed them as soon as I walked into the room. I always need to know how to get away in case of an emergency , and over time it had become second nature to scout out a room as soon as I entered it. But I don't think just getting up and walking to the bathroom would have been any help as the officer made it seem. "Haha thanks." I said standing up and making my way to the door.

As soon as I locked the door behind me I transformed into my ghost half and flew through the ceiling out into the sky. I took a deep breath as the cool air helped me clear my head a bit. It still hurt, but it was more bearable now. Flying always made me feel better, no matter what the problem might have been.

Looking around, I spotted a few people running in fear a few blocks down. I zipped over quickly, trying to find the reason for said fear.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading guys! If you have any questions or comments don't be afraid to review or even PM me. And if you want more then don't forget to follow the story so that you know when I make my next update. See you guys in the next one~**


	3. Alone

**I DID IT. I was able to wait a week before posting! Are you guys proud of me? I'm proud of me. Albeit I DID distract myself a lot. I even went to Universal Studios last Friday, so that helped. Anyways, thanks guys for all he follows and favorites. It always makes me feel good to open my email up to a ton of Fanfiction emails and notifications. XD**

 **~Dragon~**

* * *

I sighed transforming back into my human self as I landed back in the Security office's bathroom. It had only been the box ghost, but he had put up more of a fight than usual. Either that or whatever was making me sick was also making me weaker. I shook that thought off. I couldn't afford to be any weaker. I was already weak enough. I couldn't even stand up to Vlad as it was. I shivered as I thought about the older ghost.

Stepping out of the bathroom, the officer behind the counter didn't even look up. It was like he didn't even notice how long I was gone. Whatever. Better for me.

I sat down again, leaning heavily against the wall. My thoughts drifted to all the battles I had with Vlad in the past, and with every victory, only I realized that it was pure luck that got me through each one. A mistake on his part, Jasmine or Tucker tripping over the right wire. Every single battle had been one that he was destined to lose, yet somehow, the older ghost had retreated, as is he was allowing me to win. I clutched my stomach as it spasmed. I needed to go home soon. I thought. Both for food and rest.

My mind wondered back to the other half ghost. But this time my mind turned to the offer of joining him. He offered the same thing every time they met, only to become frustrated at my blatant denial and disregard of him. I must seem like I hadn't even thought about the offer to Vlad. But the truth was that I had. It was so tempting to just say forget it and to go to him.

But I couldn't. As amazing as the offer sounded. To be able to learn from the only person in the world who could understand me. To not have to worry about any of the problems I had now. It was painful to deny it. But the cost was to high. To renounce my father, the man, as clumsy and airheaded as he was, loved me. And I loved him. I would be betrayal of the highest caliber, and I couldn't do it.

Tears threatened to fall at the combination of my thoughts and the pain I felt, but I held them back. I've been through much worse to cry over something to trivial.

The door swung open and the guard from before walked in.

"You're free to go kid." Said the guard I stood up to leave swaying slightly as black spots appeared in my vision. They were gone as quickly as they came and the guard continued. "But I don't want to see you causing trouble in my park again got it?" I nodded my consent and made my way outside.

A few minutes of walking around and I spotted Sam and Tucker laughing together as they ate whatever they decided to get at some food truck.

"Well welcome back Mr. Trouble maker." said Tucker as I took my seat next to him. I scowled at my friend.

"Why did you guys deny you where will me? I might not have been thrown out if you just told the guard what happened." I said grumpily.

"OR we could have been thrown out with you and that wouldn't have been cool." Sam said. I growled at the lack of care she was showing.

"Whatever." I said getting up. "I'm heading home."

"What? You don't want to spend time with us anymore?" Tucker said glaring at me. I sighed facing him.

"No Tuck, I just have the horrible headache and want to rest a bit so it goes away."

"Ya right!" Sam exclaimed. "Ghosts don't get sick! If you don't want to spend time with us all you had to do was say so."

"Ya dude, you don't have to lie to us. We get it." Tucker finished. I stood there staring at them almost unbelievingly. They were so convinced that I didn't want to be around them that they didn't even let me get in a word of leeway. They didn't even considered what I said might be true.

Another pain shot through my head as I stood there and I remembered why I wanted to go home in the first place. Without another word I spun around and began stomping home.

* * *

I flopped down into bed, happy to finally get some rest. Another ghost had attacked on my way home and it took more energy than I wanted to use to capture it. I hugged my pillow and rolled into a ball, willing down the stomach fluid that seemed to crawl up my throat every few seconds.

I had thought about grabbing a snack or something on the way up to my room but the thought of anything entering my stomach made me gag, so I forgot the food all together.

Minutes ticked by seeming more like hours. I clutched at my pillow and groaned as a more violent pain shot through my system. The rest of the day seemed to pass in a blur of pain, and as the sun began to set in the sky, I heard a laugh above me. My ghost sense had gone off at least six times while I was laying in bed, but trying to go and hunt them was impossible. Surely the town could handle a single day on their own.

But now as I looked up into the face of a smiling skulker I knew that I would need to do something. I shakily tried to stand. Gripping the edge of my bed and almost falling over in the attempt to get up. Skulker laughed at this.

"Looks like my weapon finally worked. It wasn't immediate like he said, but waiting a day was well worth the reward I get to collect." He made to grab me but I brought up my hand and sent a plasma blast tumbling into him. He grunted getting thrown back, but nowhere near as strongly as he should have been. He smiled at me evilly, knowing now how truly week I was. I ground my teeth standing up straight and fighting down the pain that threatened to overtake me.

"You might as well give up." Skulker said slowly walking towards me like a predator hunting its prey. "You're too weak, and fighting will only make you weaker." I scowled at him. But knowing he was correct I prepared to do something I hadn't done before. I turned back into a human, and I screamed. "What in the world?" I heard skulker say as he grabbed me by the neck cutting of my scream. "What was that?"

Suddenly my door came crashing down. My parents yelling harshly at Skulker. With wide eyes Skulker dodged most everything they shot at him, me still being gripped tightly in his hand. A few projectiles caught him though and he soon realised he wouldn't be able to fight them now. Not when he was caught off guard like he was. So, with me still clutch in his hands he flew out through the ceiling. I heard my parents scream for me as we went.

"Nice try kid, but your going to have todo better than that." Skulker said with a sneer. I wiggled around trying to get free only for him to tighten his grip, almost choking me. 'Fine I guess we're doing this.' I thought. And opening my mouth wide, I bit down as hard as i could, enhancing my teeth so they wouldn't break against the metal. Skulker soon released me realising that his hand would soon be broken otherwise, and I fell.

The shock off falling was sudden but passed quickly, and I changed into Phantom. I barely caught myself from crashing down into the grass. And weakly I set myself down, almost falling over in my attempt. Skulker landed a few feet in front of me arm raised weapon charging.

"I guess we're doing this the hard way." He said before firing it. I tried dodging but my body was too sluggish to do it, and the ecto plasma, energy ball hit me in the shoulder. I flew back, rolling through the grass, and landed on my back. 'I need to get out of here.' I thought desperately as I sat up and swayed from the dizziness that engulfed me. When I finally got my bareing I saw Skulker approaching me, slowly, as if he knew he had won. I looked around desperately and noticed with a jolt that I was back at the park.

The sun had set but there were still people everywhere, most running away or watching the ghost fight, but that means the even was still going on. If I was quick enough, I could probably find Sam and Tucker. They could help.

I didn't even try to stand. Instead I just floated away as fast as I could going invisible for a couple seconds to buy me some time.

"Running away now Twerp?" I heard Skulker yell from a distance. "I WILL find you. It's only a matter of time." I knew he was right but I ignore whatever else he had to say and continued on.

I search desperately seconds feeling like hours. THERE. I spotted them, but stopped in my tracks. With my eyes wide I took in the sight of Sam and Tucker… kissing. They were sitting on a bench at the edge of the park, holding hands and making out. I watched them feeling like my world was falling apart. I loved Sam. I loved her like I had never loved anything more dearly. I was going to tell her. I was. But- now.

Something hit me from behind. It burned as it thrashed across my skin leaving deep gashes. Skulker had fired an Ecto net at point blank range. I hissed as I landed on the ground and the net tightened all around me. I looked up seeing Sam and Tucker had stood noticing me in trouble.

"Guys!" I called to them. "Help." My voice cracked as my throat constricted. Wincing I tried to move into a better position. But my efforts were in vain as Skulker grabbed the back of the net and pulled me up. The movement jared my new wounds and I yelped as the robe rubbed against them. Wondering where my friends were I looked back to where I had found them. They were backing awak. "Guys?" I asked weakly. They shook their heads.

"I'm sorry Danny." Sam said.

"We're done dude. We don't want to hunt ghosts anymore." Tucker joined in.

"You're going to have to get yourself out of this one." Same said once again before they turned and started to run away.

"But Wait. Guys!" I tried to call them back, but Skulker shook the net making me cry out in pain and look up at him. I could no longer hide the panic on my face. How was I going to get out of this? Skulker laughed.

"Poor little Twerp, all alone. No more friends to help you out." I took off flying back towards my house. Probably to go through the portal that was located there. "I must say I'm surprised with how well my new weapon worked. Yes it was definitely worth the day of waiting." I closed my eyes tightly, curling my body into a ball praying that something or someone would get me out of this.

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 **Did you guys like it? Let me know what you thought. If you're new to the story and want to know when I update again then don't forget to follow either me or my story. See ya guys next week. ;)**

 **~Dragon~**


	4. Afraid

**Alright so, I think a second chapter this week is OK as long as I keep up on writing. They story is really starting to come together in my head and I'm excited to get it down on 'paper' so as long as I keep writing as much as I am, then I'll post twice a week. But don't expect it because it may or may not happen every week. (probably not.) But anyways this is the next chapter to Masters of the Universe. I hope you enjoy it.**

 **~Dragon~**

* * *

I opened my eyes as we reached my house, and hovered through the walls into the lab. To my and Skulkers surprise the lab doors had been closed. Dad almost never closes the doors, unless the portal needed maintenance. But I know that's not true considering I had helped him fix all the little bugs out a couple days ago. Had something else broke? Was this my prayer answered?

"What is this?" Skulker said jolting the net I winced and smirked up at him.

"Looks like you won't be taking me anywhere." I said. My voice weak but still holding enough amusement in my tone to make skulker growl.

"Very well. We will wait until it is reopened." Skulker said. Spinning around. I clenched my eyes shut at my back throbbed against the strain of the ropes and another violent pain spasmed through my stomach and head. With my eyes closed I didn't see the projectile hit Skulker, and I didn't know anything was wrong until, he fell over flat of his back, dropping me in the process.

I cried out in pain as I came into contact with the floor, the pain becoming to much. My mind became foggy, and all I could do was stare up at the dizzying figures above me. One was large and orange, the other slim and blue. Confused I squinted and tried to rid my mind of the fog, only to clench my eyes shut once more when the pain returned.

I heard familiar voices. And almost cried out in joy when I realized they were my parents. Now feeling relief flood my system, replacing the adrenaline, I could no longer hold onto my ghost form. I had no idea how I even held it for as long as I did. I didn't comprehend that I was changing in front of my parents, and I was already asleep when they finally reacted. All I knew was that I was safe, in the presence of the ones that I loved.

* * *

Groggily I shifted my weight, groaning when the surface of whatever I was laying on rubbed against my back. I tried to place a hand of my stomach to stop the trembling, only to find that I couldn't. Everything hurt, and I was starving. Why can't I move my arm? I wondered almost lazily.

I tried to peel my eyes apart but they wouldn't budge. I thought back to the night before. What happened? Who did I fight? But nothing came. I heard voices again. And screaming. My eyes clenched and the screaming grated against my ears. Who's doing that? Why?

I groaned again louder this time as the pain in my head increased. The screaming stopped. And so did the voices. I sighed in relief. My body relaxed as I began to drift again, ignoring the pain and the hunger.

But a sudden sharp pain in my chest stopped me from falling back to sleep. I gasped and my eyes flew open. I took in my surroundings scanning for the threat. My parents stood in front of me, skulker seemingly unconscious was on a table next to me. My mind reeled. If he's unconscious what hurt me? I noticed we were in the lab but nothing else moved. The ghost must be gone. I slumped back down.

Glancing at my parent to make sure they were ok, I noticing how they held ghost weapons at the ready. They must have scarred it off… and knocked out Skulker. Kudos to them I guess. Skulker wasn't the hardest of ghosts to fight but he wasn't the easiest either. The fact that they knocked him out was an achievement on their part. I'll have to release him into the portal later though. As much as I love my parents, horrible ghost experiments wasn't something I would subject anyone to.

Even him.

I let my head fall back and closed my eyes flinching at the contact, and concentrating on making the pain go away.

"Hey you guys got a ghost." I said with a little smile on my face. "Good job." I was about to ask them why I was asleep in the lab when my dad cut me off.

"DON'T MOCK US YOU GHOST FREAK." He said. My head snapped up at his words, giving me whiplash.

"What?" I asked slightly panicked. What if they knew? DID they know?

"Oh don't go playing stupid with us!" Mom hissed. "We know you're a ghost! We saw you before you changed!" Shit. Just like that my memories came rushing back I remembered last night and all that happened. Skulker, the sickness, my friend's betrayal and abandonment. I slumped again.

"I'm so sorry guys." I said. "I wanted to tell you sooner I just didn't know how an-" I tried to lift my arm again only to have it snuggle held in place. I looked down. A thick strap coated in glowing ectoplasm held my arm in place. What?

"Nice try freak!" Dad said. "But our son isn't some terrorist ghost kid."

"Now TELL us WHERE. HE. IS." mom said emphasising her last three words and holding some weapon up threateningly. It wasn't big, but I knew that some of their smallest inventions could really hurt. I flinched back away from them.

"But guys! It's ME. IM DANNY." I said in a panic.

"No you're not. NOW TELL ME WHERE MY SON IS!" Dad shouted taking the device from my mom and pressing it to my abdomen. I screamed as an electric current surged through my body. My stomach heaved, but with nothing in it, nothing came out.

"Wait. It's me I swear!" I said pulling uselessly against my ghost proof restraints. "Look I can prove it." I changed into my ghost counterpart, then back into my human one. They stared at my, the darkness in their eyes spreading across their faces.

"You think we're going to believe that you, A GHOST is out SON!?" Mom said menacingly. "Shock him again."

"Wait NO! AHHHG" I screamed again as the electricity coursed through me. My headache was now a full force migraine. Making my head feel like it was splitting apart. And my stomach heaved and wretched looking for any kind of food to digest, but coming up with nothing. All the while it gurgled from my sickness.

* * *

They kept at it for hours. Questioning me. Inflicting all kinds of cuts and burns across my chest. Never relenting no matter what I said. They kept me awake with adrenaline, not letting me rest for even a moment. The pain was incredible. I had thought the worst pain that I would ever go through was when my ghost half had merged with my human half. I was wrong.

My already weakened state, along with the combined physical and emotional pain of your parents torturing you had long since surpassed it. My throat had become raw from screaming and my wrists and ankles now sported deep gashes here I kept pulling against my restraints.

I tried to tell them. I tried to make them see. But they refused to listen to the truth. I relayed stories of when we were together. I reminded them about our most memorable memories, yet everytime I did. Their eyes grew darker, and the pain more intense. They now believed I had been stalking them for years. Targeting their son.

Eventually, hours later, I gave up. Only begging for them to realise their mistake in my mind. And making no other noise other than to scream when the pain became to much.

Skulker had awoken long ago, yet he said nothing. He watched on, sometimes looking away when he deemed my torchure to much for even him. Still he was silent. He probably didn't want to draw any of their attention to him. I couldn't blame him for it. He had probably gone through his own round of torture before I had awoken.

It was fault that I was here though. He was the one that made me weak. He was the one that dragged me here. And now he would pay for it. Right alongside me. I wondered in the back of my mind if the pain would ever end. Or what would happen when they were done with me. Would they kill me? I let my head roll to the side after a particularly painful round of torture. Skulkur lay staring back at my, eyes full of pity. I didn't have it in me to glare. Or to make any sort of comment. I was so weak.

A few rounds later and I found that my screams had summoned Jasmine, who had just gotten home after a day out with her friends. When she saw me screamed and yelled. She tried to get to me. Tried to free me. But my parents stopped her. They told her I was a fake, that I wasn't me. But she fought. She knew who I was and tried to save me.

I watched as my parents take her upstairs. Trying to calm her down as she cried out for me and fought them all the way. Trying to explain to them who I was. The door shut behind them and I let my eyes fall shut.

"Kid." I heard Skulker whisper behind me. "You still awake?" I turned my head, letting it slump down as I faced the other direction. My eyes slid half open wondering what he wanted to say after all this time in silence. He stared at my for a while. My eyes began to droop again before he finally started to speak.

"Your parents are going to kill us both if we don't get out of here." He said. His eyes where full of pity but also desperate to escape. I didn't have the energy to acknowledge him. I just groaned and shut my eyes, letting the darkness take me once again.

* * *

I woke to someone violently shaking my shoulder. I hissed as my wounds shot pain all through my body. My back, my head, all up and down my torso. I was no longer starving though. Or I was just numb to it.

"Danny get up." I heard the figure above me his. I curled in on myself trying to fight of the pain. "Danny common you need to go!" They said. I slowly looked up to see Jazz my sister staring down at me.

"Jazz?" I asked groggily. Coughing violently when my throat screamed in protest.

"Ya Danny it's me." She said rubbing my shoulder and leaning down so that we were face to face. "Here" She held a glass of water close to my face. Shackaly sitting up I tried to take it from her and chug it down. But Jazz would only let me take sips at a time saying I'll get even more sick if I drank it all at once.

The first drink stung. I hurt more to take that first drink then the coughing did. But once my throat was no longer dry I readily drank the rest. My stomach quivered in protest and I almost wretched it back up, but was able to keep it down after a minuet of fighting with it.

"Take this too." Jazz said handing me a granola bar. "But you need to go." I looked at her questiongly. "Mom and Dad are asleep now but they have an alarm on the lab door to make sure I couldn't sneak down here. I was able to disable it for now but the backup systems will kick in soon so we have to hurry." She explained, all the while I scarfed down the granola bar. I almost choked in my attempt to eat it with little to no chewing at all.

"What am I going to do Jazz?" I asked her when I swallowed the last bit.

"Can you hide out at Sam or Tucker's?" She asked confused as to why I was asking her.

"No." I said sadly looking down. My spirits plummeted even further at the thought of what happened. "They don't want to fight ghosts anymore. So I can be apart of their lives. Because fighting ghosts is all I can do." i explained to her. Her hand rubbing on my shoulder stilled. I glanced up to see her eyes full of pity and disbelief. I looked down again not wanting to see the pity directed at me anymore. I got enough of it everytime I came home with a particular nasty wound and she saw. I rarely told her when I was wounded anymore.

I also glanced over at Skulker. He lay there asleep. His little green blob of a body strapped down on the table that looked far to big for him. I couldn't tell you exactly what emotions that ran through me. Anger, sadness, pity, fear.

"I have no idea then Danny. But you still need to leave." I looked back down at my hands, and nodded.

"Alright." I said my mind reeling. "I'll figure something out." I said. She patted my shoulder and stood up, extending her hand to help me out as well. I took it and transformed as I stood shakily. I glanced back at Skulker one last time.

"Take this." She said handing me small backpack. "There's a couple more granola bars in there, and some water." She said. I nodded taking it from her hands.

"Could you release Skulker too?" I asked her. She looked shocked at the request but nodded.

"Ya." She said, "I can do that." I smiled at her and took a step forward, stumbling slightly as pain shot up my back and chest. I caught myself though as Jazz reached for me.

"I got it." I said gripping at my chest and floating slightly into the air as to not put any more weight on my body.

Just then an alarm blared through the house. Jasmine's had shot up and I winced covering my ears with the sound. I heard Skulker shout in surprise.

"Go!" Jazz said hugging me. I flinched at the contact but ignored it and hugged her as well. My parents decided that moment was as good as any to rush into the room. My mother had a tranq gun up and ready before she had even completely entered the room. I barely dodged the bullet. Skulker yelled out but I had no idea what he was saying. I needed out of here. Faster than I thought possible for my body in its current state.

I flew into the air higher and higher until I could feel ice forming along my suit. I didn't slow down either. I had no idea what direction I was headed, but I didn't care. Tears finally streamed across my face, caught in the wind. I flew and flew and flew. But no amount of air time could stop the tear. It was the first time I have ever flown, that it didn't at least briefly put a smile on my face.

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 **Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys again soon. Don't forget to follow for alerts when I update.**

 **~Dragon~**


	5. Lost

**I'm sorry I'm a little late with the update guys. I ment to post yesterday and even earlier today but I've been so distracted with a game called Subnautica. I've had this game for over a year now in Beta and it finally just came out yesterday (Tuesday 23rd of January) and its soooooo good. For as long as I've had this game I am still completely in love with it and already have about 20 hours logged into a single save. (Thats how little of a life I have.) Anyway here is the next chapter , and don't worry im still keeping up with writing it, its just a little harder to pull myself away from my distraction XD.**

 **~Dragon~**

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I don't know long I had been flying for. Only that the sun had come up a while ago, and that I was losing altitude. It wasn't intentional, and I barely noticed it at first, but as the ground came closer up to meet me I had to acknowledge that I wasn't going to be in the air much longer.

In a flash of rational thought I figured that I needed to find some kind of road before I landed lest I camp out in the middle of nowhere. So I changed directions. Only slightly, flying more east than the south east that I was before. I knew when the sun started to rise that I was headed towards wisconsin, and that the nearest city was south east of Amity. But I might have gone to far in that direction if I didn't see the road.

I also knew I hadn't passed the city yet, I would have seen the city lights below me, even in the state that I was in. I just hope I hadn't flown around it.

To my relief I saw the road in the distance after a few more minutes of flying. I would find somewhere to stay in the city, if I even made it that far. I was getting closer and closer to the ground as I went, becoming more sluggish and tired. My body ached with the exertion.

With a start I realised why this road was so Familiar.

Vlad.

This is the road we took on the way to his mansion.

I remembered he lived a few miles outside the city. I could probably make it there, but it would be close. My eyes drooped and I wavered in the air. It would be very close.

But this was Vlad. The older ghost had been fighting me for years. Almost killing my father more than once. The man was my biggest enemy. And here I am debating whether I should ask him for help. 'He might be the only help you get.' I thought.

'Would he even be willing to help me?' I shot back at myself.

'He's offered you a place many times before.'

'Only as his evil sidekick though. And that NOT what I want.'

'There's nowhere left.' My mind went back and forth weighing what little options I had. Finally, after a long debate with myself I decided I would stop by, but not stay. If Vlad tried to make and deals with Danny that he didn't like in exchange for the help then Danny would go and camp out somewhere nearby.

'He's going to want something though. What could I possibly give him?'

'Your service.' My mind whispered. I tried to shake it off but I kept coming back. 'It's the only thing you have to offer.'

'Fine. But nothing to evil otherwise the deal is off and I get away.' I nodded in acceptance. He was possibly my only option here, and I knew I couldn't be too picky. With a great sigh, I picked up speed, eager for some rest.

* * *

I could see his house. I wasn't even a mile away, but I was already dragging my feet across the floor as I flew. Barely holding myself up as I made my way closer and closer to the only other half ghost's house in the world.

My water and food supply was completely gone, and so was the small amount of energy that had come with it. Adrenaline had long since left me, and now I was just running on the pure will to be somewhere that would allow him to rest. And it was in sight. Just a little more.

I was at the porch now, too tired to contemplate what I was going to say, not even completely registering who I was going to for help. Just hoping that it would come. Soon. I landed by the door with a bang, and collapsed to my knees, my legs unable to hold my weight. I raised a shaky hand and banged on the door with as much force as I could. Yet it sounded meek and quiet.

'Please hear me.' I begged in my mind. 'Please open the door.' My body leaned against the wall by the door, sinking into the wood. My eyes shut as I waited, and listened. I almost dozed of when I heard a shuffle on the other side of the wall. It was quiet. I wouldn't have heard it if I was completely human.

"V-Vlad!" I squeeked. Trying to let him know I was there. 'Please don't leave me here. Please open the door.' I winced as my throat constricted at the muttered word. The shuffling had stopped though. He had stopped. "Vlad!" I tried again. Slightly louder. I tried to sit up, but my body refused. I heard the shuffling come back. Moving quicker than before, and getting closer to the door.

Finally the door swung open, and Vlad dressed in his usual suite and tie took a single step out of the house looking around for the source of noise he had heard. When his eyes finally reached mine they had widened and in a disbelieving tone he addressed me.

"Daniel? Wha- What's happened to you?" He stepped further out of his house and crouched in front of me. My breathing was still heavy and labored. So I spoke out what I could on the exhale of each breath.

"I- I need- help. Please." I said leaning my head back against the wood. Vlad reached out as if to touch me, but retracted it as soon as i flinched back.

"You want ME to help You?" His tone was suspicious and amazed all in one. He watched me closely as I tried to shift my body, grinding my teeth in the process.

"Please." I said again. "Nowhere- left. Noone.." I stopped not wanting to think about the events much lest I burst out in tears again. I tried shifting once more, but my back rubbed up against the wood and I felt the dried blister split. I cried out in pain, leaning as far forward as my body would allow, and feeling as the blood flowed down my back in rivlets.

I must be a spectacle. I realised. My clothes where caked in blood both human and non, and there were holes everywhere. Some from burns others from cuts. My shirt was barely even hanging on. That though process only lasted a second as another bout of pain shot through me. I hissed trying to stop from crying out again.

I don't know when and I don't know why, but I soon realised I was being carried. Vlad held me against his chest walking quickly through the halls of his house, almost running, but not quite. 'When did he even pick me up?' I wondered. My thoughts were barely registered now. I let my head fall against his chest and closed my eyes. 'You should be fighting him!' my mind screamed for a moment.'

"No" I mumbled out loud. "No more…" 'fighting'. I was to weak to say the last word aloud, but in that moment I had made a decision. Amity could fend for itself. From now on, I was going to protect myself first, others second. No one was left to love me, no one was left to care. Jasmine had no idea where to find me and there was no one left to help her look. So there was no point. The entire reason I fought was for them, and they were gone.

I let my mind shut down as those last thoughts went through my mind.

No more.

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 **Tank you all for reading this chapter of Masters of the World. If you liked it don't forget to follow so that you'll be notified when I update.**

 **~Dragon~**


	6. He's Safe

**Hey guys! Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm getting a bunch of positive reviews and PMS and its really making me happy, and it encourages me to write more and more of this story. I glad that you guys like it so much. So here a little bit of a treat in celebration. IT'S VLAD. Writing his POV was actually a lot of fun. His character is one of my favorites to write i think out of everything I done. I'm not sure why, i think it's just his regal air and his confident attitude that make writing from his POV so nice. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter.**

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Special-Vlad POV:

I sighed as I let myself sink down into my very comfortable armchair. It was big, it was comfortable, and it was expensive. 'Just like my lifestyle.' I thought with a smirk on my face. I swung my leg over the other, and picked up my book of the coffee table, flipping to the page I had left off at.

With a great sigh I relaxed further into my chair, letting the words of a different time and different place wash over me. There was nothing like a good book in your favorite chair on a Sunday morning.

The minutes ticked by, but I didn't even give them a thought. Today I had nothing but a blank schedule and a good book. My butler walked in handing me a beautiful ornate mug, filled with a light colored coffee, and a decoration of a leaf made with the cremer floating on top. I nodded to him, taking the cup and sipping it lightly as the butler made his way out of the room.

I hummed as the warmth filled me, and let out another sigh as I lowered the cup, releasing the hot air from the liquid that was previously in my mouth.

I went back to my book, turning the page when I had finished the one I was on. Soon I was lost once again in the book I was reading.

* * *

'I knew I had heard something.' i thought as I silently glided up to my front door and peeked out of the spy hole. I sighed for the up tenth time that day, but this time out of annoyance rather than content, when I saw no one outside my door. 'If there's a rodent hiding in my walls it will have to be dealt with swiftly.' I thought as I began to shuffle away, mush unlike how I appeared.

I paused. I had heard something again. I almost sounded like the whisper of my name. But who in the world.

"Vlad!" There it was again! The voice was familiar, but different. It sound forced, strangled almost. I pinpointed the sound to outside and swiftly walked back to the door, swinging it open rather than checking through the glass this time. I let my ghost energy pulse through me as I did, for multiple reasons. First was so that I was ready to defend myself at a moments notice, the second was to produce a warning to any ghost who might be around.

The spike in ghost energy that I possessed was enough for even some older, more powerful ghost to be dissuaded from attacking.

Lastly the pulse of energy acted as a sort of echolocation, if you will. When my energy sweeped out the way it did I could locate any other ghost's life source energy within its radius. In this case I let it sweep across my entire mansion and slightly more, just to make sure there were no others sneaking around.

To my surprise I felt a faint energy source right next to me. Again it was familiar, but weak, and struggling. My head whipped in their direction, wondering why on Earth they were to the side of the door, rather than in front of it. When my eyes met nothing I was forced to look up then… down.

"Daniel?" I said in surprise taking in his form. He was hunched over, leaning fully against the side of my house. Wha- What's happened to you?" I asked almost afraid of the answer. I moving to get a better look by crouching in front of him. His chest heaved with his heavy breath, and as he spoke, he went along with each exhale, struggling to get the words to leave his tongue.

"I-I need-help. Please." He said. My chest constricted at the sight, and my powers flared as I took in the rest of him. He was beaten and bloody. His shirt was barely hanging off his body and his hair was caked with his own blood. Cuts, burns, and lacerations littered his torso, and by the way he winced when he shifted I could tell his back must not be much better.

Whoever had done this was going to pay. Sure I knew Daniel fought ghosts, and I knew that it was inevitable to get badly hurt or even killed, but these wounds were worse. The were deliberate. Intensionale. This was torture. My eyes flared red before I blinked it away, unwilling to let Daniel see me uncontrolled.

I that moment I reached out to him, wanting to will away the pain I could see in his eyes, his posture. But I thought better of it before I touched him. I did not want to scare away this boy. This boy who I had been trying to help for year, but unable to do so when he was apart of Jack Fenton's household. I despise that man, and I knew that his obsession for ghost overpowered even his love for his family.

Daniel was quite the opposite though. His love for his friends and family was deep, and he didn't care whether you where ghost or human, if you tried to threaten either of them, then the aggressor would not be around long enough to know what they had done wrong.

I wished that I could be more like Daniel. Ignorant to the evil ways of humans. Their lies, and misconceptions. They act like they're your friends, but then when you need them most, they vanish. Humans are the worst kind of creatures. There were only a few, sparks of light in the endless abyss, that are worth any kind of pain fighting for. Daniel was one of those sparks.

Even if he wasn't all human.

But why had the boy come to me? I was his enemy in his eyes. He would rather tell his ghost hunting parents that he was a ghost than come to me for help.

"You want ME to help You?" I asked him unable to figure out why. Assumptions would get me nowhere. I needed to know why.

"Please." He said again his voice weaker than before. "Nowhere-left. Noone…" His voice trailed of and his eyes clenched shut. I felt my ghost flare again within me. Had his friends and family all been killed? Had he been left alone in the world, all alone? Had he become so desperate for help that he was willing to seek it out even from who he thought of as the enemy? I took a deep breath calming myself once again.

Daniel was here, and he was safe. Albeit he was weak and unpredictable. He was safe.

Daniel suddenly cried out in pain, trying in vain to curl in on himself. I watched as what was left of his shirt become soaked in blood. The origin of the wound at his back. He must have reopened a wound. I thought quickly. After a moment of indecision I knelt down and carefully scooped the boy up in my arms.

He was lighter than he should have been. The passing thought caught my attention, but was shoved to the back of my mind as the boy hissed in pain. I began making my way through my mansion quickly, careful as to not jolt him more than was needed, and wishing that my medical bay was slightly closer to the front of the house.

Wishing for such things though was pointless, so my thoughts refocused on the small halfa in my arms. The only other halfa in the world. They only one in the world who was like him. I would not lose Daniel. My thoughts ran wild going back and forth between wonder who could have done this and in what manner I would make them pay.

I was distracted when Daniel's head fell against my chest, and I almost stopped walking completely at his words.

"No-" he whispered. I could not tell if he meant me to hear it or not. Did he change his mind? Did he not want my help after all? Did he still see me as an enemy even in the state that he was in? "No more." I was confused now. Not that I wasn't before. No more what? I thought. Pain? My eyebrows furrowed at the thought.

Had he become delusional and thought he was back with his captors? My pace quickened again. Daniel was now unconscious in my arms. A flash of panic shot through my body, but I shoved it down. His wounds were not life threatening. They might have been if he had opened his wound up again somewhere else and it was not treated.

But I was here. He was here. He was going to be fine.

Daniel was safe.

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 **Don't forget to follow if you want updates every time I post. XD Thank you guys for reading and I'll see you next time.**

 **~Dragon~**


	7. Found

**Alright so. Lots happening. Luckily this is why I had chapters written beforehand as a backup. Either way you guys will get your story on time this week. And most likely next week to as long as I don't forget to post. Thanks for all the support I've been getting from so many of you guys, it's really inspiring to know how many people actually enjoy your stories. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter just as much. I for one am actually pretty proud of this chapter, I really focused on how someone might feel when waking up after something like that, and what they focused on. Enjoy.**

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It was cold. I could feel my body shivering. It shook with enough force that the soft surface underneath me was rocking against something. But I didn't feel cold. I couldn't feel anything except the silky smoothness that was under me.

I could hear things. But they were blurry. Unfocused.

I couldn't see anything. It was dark, and blank. But if I tried hard enough, I could barely see a soft red glow, surrounding my field of vision.

I felt my chest rise and fall, it was steady in its rhythm. Focusing on that almost lulled me back into the oblivion that I had emerged from. How long ago had that been? I didn't know, and I didn't care to think about it either. I was content with how I was.

There was movement. Something along my chest, and another along my arm. It was soothing, warm, and gentle. So I let it continue without worry.

Then I felt my body shift. My weight was moved from my back to my chest. There was a moment where I almost felt the pain, but it was gone quickly. I was now on my chest, and the gentle movement from before was on my back.

I stayed on my chest longer than I had on my back. My weight pushing my further into the soft fabric all around me. For I while I was content to lay like this. But sooner or later it became uncomfortable. I felt my body twitch as I tried to shift.

I didn't want to be in this position anymore. When I did though, I heard something. It was loud and trilled on and on. The noise scared me. I tried to move again, this time trying to move away from the sound.

It wasn't the only sound, but the others had been there since the beginning, they were soft, and I had gotten used to them long ago. Suddenly the sound stopped, and the movement from before returned on my back.

I recognized it this time though. It was a hand. My memories flashed. Screams, and hands threatening me above my body. I flinched back as the memory returned, but relaxed when I focused on the new hands.

They were big, cauloused, but somehow soft. They moved over my back gently, and soothed my fear. The discomfort returned, and once again I tried to shift. I was more successful in moving than the first time, but far from actually achieving my goal.

The hands paused before they left. I almost whimpered at the lost contact. I liked the comfort they had brought me and missed it immediately when they were gone.

But soon they were back. Ever so gently they lifted me. It wasn't a pleasant sensation and I twitched again trying to make the let go. But they didn't.

Instead I felt the hand shift me around. Turning my body so that my back was underneath me. They lowered me down again. The pressure at first made my back ache. I flinched at the feeling, but settled after a moment. It wasn't unbearable.

I missed the hands. When they did not return after setting me down I wondered where they had went. Would they come back?

I listened to my surroundings, trying to discern if they were still around. I heard the soft beep of a machine. It was quiet and consistent. The hum of a machine even more so. I listened harder and the sound became clearer. I had not even noticed that they were fuzzy before.

I heard a mumble. A shuffle of feet far away. The longer I listened the more clear the sounds became. The red glow from before became brighter as well, until I saw nothing but red. My thoughts became sharper, and my concerns grew.

'Where was I? Why did my body ache? What was the scratchy thing wrapped around my back and chest?...Who was the owner of the hands?' My thoughts silenced as I heard another shuffle, much closer, and then a click of the opening, and closing softly.

I tried to open my, but the crust around them held them closed tightly. I felt a hand at the back of my head. The contact frightened me at first, but again I slowly relaxed as them ran through my hair soothingly. I sighed at the feeling.

The hand soon stopped the movement and lifted my head slightly. I felt my eyebrows furrow in wonder. 'Why where they lifting my head?' The answer came even before the thought had finished processing. A cold glass had been pressed against my lips, and was now trying to coax my mouth open.

Slowly I obliged, moaning when the crisp liquid flowed past my tongue. I drank greedily. Stopping to take breaths only when the hands moved the glass away from my lips every few seconds. When the liquid was gone, the hand holding my head in place gently lowered it back down. The hand ran through my hair again making me sigh in content.

I heard a voice. I was low and musical. I couldn't hear what it said though. I tried focusing but it was gone before the words became clear. I heard the footsteps as they walked away, and the opening and closing of a door.

I was alone. Now that my thoughts were mostly clear, I decided to think back. It was a bad idea. I almost cried out at what I found. My parents, my friends. I felt more alone in that moment then I had in my entire life. I felt the pain. My body was numb, but the memory was still fresh and cruel. Their ghost ran along each scar, each wound. It felt like they were being reopened one by one.

I ground my teeth and focused on the present. I had gotten away from them. I was no longer in danger of being hurt by them again. But that led me to wonder again, 'where was I?'

I started as I heard the door open. I was to concentrated on my own thoughts to hear the footsteps approaching the door. It closed a moment later, and heavy scent perfumed the hair. My stomach growled loudly and my eyes almost shot open at the presence of food. I moaned in anticipation. My mouth was now watering to the point that I had almost drooled.

"Now now Daniel." I heard the voice from before say. It took a moment to process the words, they were still slightly fuzzy, but understandable. "I'm not going to hand feed you again. If you want to eat you're going to have to open your eyes." I groaned again attempting to pry my eyes open. I knew that voice.

I connected the voice to a feeling of overwhelming defeat, and hopelessness. But it didn't sound malicious. In fact it was the opposite. It sounded gentle and patient. Why would I feel hopeless when I heard this voice?

I tried to pry my eyes open one last time, the confusion of my conflicting emotions motivating my need to quell the curiosity. Finally, I succeeded, only to slam them back down as soon as the light touched my eyes. It was so bright. I groaned lifting my hands to cover my face.

I rubbed away the crust around my eyes as I rolled my head to the side, away from the blaring light. I blinked a few times trying to let my eyes adjust. My hands fell back down to my sides as they finally did and I looked around.

'A hospital room?' I wondered when I saw all the strange looking machinery, and the IV connected to my arm. Panic shot through me for a moment. 'I can't be here.' But after a moment I wondered why I cared. I had nothing left to fight for. Nothing left to lose. Might as well let the people in charge run their tests.

"Daniel." I heard the voice say, getting my attention. I looked towards it. And for a second I didn't know who he was. But recognition soon dawned and I jerked into a sitting position hissing at the protest my body seemed to scream. Vlad raised an eyebrow at me a smirk ghosting across his lips. "Calm yourself Daniel. No harm will come to you here."

My first thought was to sneer back and try to get away, but then the same mentality from before returned. 'What's the point.' I slumped back down, cringing for my back, and stared at Vlad. The questions flew by one after the other. 'Why was he here? Where was here? Why wasn't he attacking? Why is there food in his hand?' I didn't care to ask any of them, but my eyes zeroed in on the food.

I heard my stomach give a loud, dry growl once again. The movement was almost painful and I gripped my stomach to quiet it.

Then the food was in front of me. My eyes widened and I looked up at Vlad. 'Was he teasing me?' I glanced back down at the plate but didn't dare make a move towards it. Vlad sighed.

"Well Daniel? I will not stand here all day waiting. Take it." He said. My hands reached up to it at his words, but paused. I looked back at Vlad. He was watching me patiently. He nodded down to the food again, and I took it. Vlad stepped away from the bed once it was securely in my lap.

I watched him out of the corner of my eye, but my main focus was on the plate in front of me. More questions shot through my mind but I ignored them. I hesitate only for a moment, before taking the fork and shoveling food into my mouth faster than I ever had before.

The thought that it might had been poisoned or spiked somehow had been one of the first that entered my mind when Vlad had offered me the plate. But I didn't care. Let him poison me, let him have the last laugh. I wouldn't fight.

I could practically feel Vlad's surprise.

"No witty comment today Daniel? No 'trying to find out my evil plan?'" He asked. I glanced at him, but just continued eating till the plate was clean. Once there was nothing left I sat there quietly, keeping my eyes and head down towards the plate. My thoughts kept drifting back to my family, and I knew that if I looked up Vlad would see the tears in my eyes. They might not have fallen yet, but they were there.

I felt a hand grip my shoulder. The plate was slowly pulled off my lap, and set on a counter nearby. I watched it go.

"Daniel." Vlad said, crouching down beside me. He waited for a moment, obviously wanting me to look at him. "You need to talk to me Daniel." he prodded when I showed no sign of doing so. White hot rage filled me for a moment.

"Why?" I said whipping my head up. My eyes met his. I saw a flash of red before they turned back to their regular aqua color. I flinched back when I saw it.

"Because you came to me, Daniel." He replied. "And because if you wish to stay here, then I must know what I'm protecting you from." My rage grew slightly and I almost growled. "If you think, that you could just show up on my doorstep, half dead no less, and be allowed to stay, you are sorely mistaken. No matter how much the thought of you being here pleases me." Just like that my anger evaporated.

A lump formed in my throat as I slumped against the wall behind me. He was right. I came to him. I was under his roof now. He had done nothing except oblige to my wimpy pleas. I felt him take a seat at the foot of the bed. Why was he doing this? I was his enemy. Nothing but a thorn in his side.

"Is staying here what you wish, Daniel?" Vlad asked. "Or have I assumed wrong and whatever it is that drove you here willingly, does not have to do with your friends and family who you would have gladly gone to first?"

The lump in my throat grew bigger. Why does he always have to be right? He was right that my family wouldn't accept me and he was right that my friends would betray me. Why did he have to be right.

"I- m-my…" I bit my lip trying to form the words. Saying it out loud would just make it all the more real, but I owed Vlad now, and he wanted to know. I took a shaky breath and tried again. "My parents found out." I said finally, my voice week. He paused for a moment, thinking over my words.

"And how did that lead to you at my doorstep, half conscious, and asking ME for help?" Vlad asked with a hard voice. I flinched as the memories rushed around in my mind. More tears went streaming down my face.

"Th- They…" I closed my eyes tightly, trying to dispel the image of my mother and father's faces above as they inflicted more and more pain.

"They did this to you?" Vlad sounded furious at the revelation.

"N-not all of it." I replied.

"Who else?" Vlad asked. It sounded more like a demand. I shrank away when I saw his eyes had turned red and glowed. Making the air around us flare with a dark feeling. I shrank away, pulling my knees to his chest.

"Skulker." I whispered.

"WHAT!" Vlad yelled. I cowered against the wall. The overwhelming power that was now flowing off of Vlad was terrifying. I had to fight of my overwhelming fight or flight instinct that surged forth. Was he holding back when we fought? He never felt this strong. Or is it because of how weak I was now? "That MORON!"

I watched as Vlad got up and with a last glance at me, stormed out of the room. To where I had no clue.

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 **Did you guys like it? Let me know your thoughts. And don't forget to follow if you want to see when I update next. See you in the next one.**

 **~Dragon~**


	8. And Now That I am Here

**HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Sorry, I know it's kinda late at night, but I had to work a TEN hour shift today at work. It was soooo** **hectic** **. You wouldn't believe how busy donuts shops actually are on Valentine's day. Not only is there a million and one people walking in to get dozens upon dozen of donuts, but there were also like a hundred different pre-orders for an billion donuts each. And me and TWO other people were the only bakers that work at the shop so you can imagine how crazy it was. Im glad it's over is all I can say.**

 **Anyways I hope you guys appreciate** **another Vlad POV chapter. I swear I love writing as him. It's so fun to act all sophisticated and smarty.**

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Vlad POV:

I fumed as I stormed down the hallway. Skulker?! THAT bumbling idiot had done this to my little badger? I tuned into one of the smaller dens that were littered about my house. (A den is like a living room but often not used as frequently or off the the side of the house rather than right in the middle like a living room.) Of course he would pay. I had told him time and time again that if he were to actually hurt the boy I would use his little green blob of a body as an ecto-dart board.

I flipped up the head of a small statue and pushed the button located underneath. A painting moved aside, giving way to a long, dark staircase going down. It lead to my lab. As I began to descend it the painting closed behind me, and my mind drifted to Daniel's parents.

I had always know that Daniel would not be accepted. I have known them for much longer than Daniel had. Almost three times as much, and I knew that their hatred for ghost was so ingrained into them that, to try and take it away, would be like throwing away a piece of your soul. It was impossible. But I at least had thought that they would let Daniel go, or perhaps make him go is a better way of putting it. I had hoped that their love for their son would cancel out at least a portion of their hatred. It appears not.

As much as I had loved Mady, this was unforgivable. How could a woman, a mother, do this to her own child? Jack might not have seen it when Daniel was hiding it, but he was not stupid. He should have seen the similarities. But Mady. She should have known much longer. She was a genius. There were times in college where she could surprise anyone, including the professors with her knowledge and observation skills. So she must have seen the similarities, and connected them with the strange behavior of Daniel since he became a ghost.

Yes she knew. She must have known long ago, but played ignorant. I had figured, with her intellect, that she had know for a while, but since she played ignorant, I was willing to as well. So I did not say anything to Daniel. I let the fear of his secret being revealed stay, so that I could use it as blackmail and so that he would not tell them of my own ghost form. But now, I'm not so sure if it was worth it.

I stepped into my lab, the lights turning on automatically as I strode in. I created a duplicate and he wandered over to the computers while I made my way to a communication station located next to the portal.

I needed to summon Skulker, but I also needed to find out whether or not Daniel's secret was out. It's a good thing I could do two things at once. On one hand I needed information about what the Fentons where doing and whether or not they had revealed Daniel's secret to the world in their hope of catching him.

And Skulker needed to be dealt with. Now.

Reaching the station I immediately sent out a frequency to Skulker's lair. Interdimensional communication was almost impossible, therefore, I could only figure out how to send in a frequency to let a ghost know they were being summoned to me. Or if the ghost wanted to let me know they were coming. I'm not a scientist after all.

I bet Mady could figure it out if she was willing to put aside her prejudice and work toward something good for the ghosts. But alas, it was not to be.

I got a confirmation frequency a minute or two later letting me know he was on the way. I sneered at the screen that showed his confirmation. Skulker would know the extent of my wrath if even half of Daniel's pain was because of him.

I wandered over to the computers and looked over my duplicates shoulder. I saw him sort through a few news articles that were local to Amity Park. I skimmed the open documents noticing a few key words such as Fentons and Phantom. I growled lowly deciding not to worry myself about it until I merged with my duplicate later.

A ding sounded through the house. It was the 'doorbell' from my portal. I tuned and made my way over to the entranced and waited at the doors opened and Skulker flew through. To say he looked rough didn't do the sight justice. His suit was in pieces hanging by mere wires. My hands that had been clenched in anger slacked slightly in surprise. What in cheese doodles was wrong with his suit?

The face of Skulker's suit opened and a small green blob floated out. He looked like his suit. Beaten and worn.

"What is it Vlad?" The little blob asked. "I'm a little busy rebuilding my suit." He gestured to the hunk of metal behind him. "Not to mention I've just been through hell and back. The ghost boy's parents are merciless."

"So they got your hands on you as well?" I said in contemplation. Were they captured together?

"As well? What do you mean as well?" Skulker asked.

"I mean." I sneered at him." That Daniel showed up on my doorstep yesterday, half dead and asking ME for help." Skulkers eyes were wide and his mouth dropped open.

"The welp came here?"

"Yes he did." I confirmed.

"I'm surprised he made it that far. He was in horrible shape when the welp's sister helped him escape." Hm I must make sure I reward Jasmine for her part in getting Daniel away from his parents.

"Yes, I myself am impressed judging by the extent of his injuries." I said placing my hands behind my back. "Speaking of injuries." I lit my hand aflame with pink ghostly power. "I have reason to believe that YOU played a part in them." Skulkers eyes went wide and he brought his arms up to protect his face and head from the blast I sent at him.

Skulker flew back hitting the portal doors behind him. I floated above him holding my hand, still alite with power, out at him threateningly.

"Would you care to explain WHY, you decided to hurt Daniel beyond what we agreed allowable?" I said as I got closer, only stopping when my hand were dangerously close to him. He was backed up against the wall straining to get farther away from me.

"I-it's not like that Vlad." He stammered out.

"Then explain to me what it's 'like.'" I gritted out.

"A-all I did, were the few gashes of his back. They weren't deep, and no where near life threatening." I glared at him.

"How?" I asked.

"A net." He said turning his face away from my palm as the air around him began to grow even hotter. "The weights on my net hit him at to close range. I-I would have taken care of it when I got him back to my lair." I growled at him but let my arm fall to my side, dispelling the ghostly fire.

"How did you both get caught?" I asked him floating back slightly so that he could get up.

"His parents closed the portal and waited for us to pass by. They saw us fighting in the child's room earlier and set a trap." They were getting better. I'll have to be sure to bring equipment to disable any weapons they will try to use on me when I go 'visit' the Fentons. Another thought occured to me.

"This still doesn't explain why he came to me rather than one of his dear friends. They already know his secret and accepted him either way." I said. Skulker chuckled.

"The welp's friend's left him to me." He said in explanation. I raised an eyebrow commanding him to explain. "Me, Technus, and Ember worked together to make a new weapon. One that would make the child sick and weak. Again nothing life threatening. Although Ember only helped with tuning the frequencies. I had used it on the child and he tried to escape to his friends, not being strong enough to face me alone." Skulker smiled widely. "But they turned away saying they didn't want ghosts to be apart of their lives any longer, and that he would have to get away on his own."

I scowled. Friends. There was no such thing. Only those willing to use you for their own entertainment or gain. Sometimes the kinder ones would help you out of pity or to make themselves feel like a better person. But in the end, when they were done, they would drop you like you were nothing. The only ones that you could trust were the ones that truly loved you unconditionally. And there were very few like that.

Even parent's love wasn't unconditional. Me and Daniel could now both atest to that first hand.

With a sigh I let the information sit. I understood now, and my heart went out to my little badger. He had gone through every bad thing that could have happened to him, happened all at once.

"Keep your eyes on the Fentons." I told Skulker in dismissal. "And inform me if anything important develops." He nodded and suited back up into his half-destroyed mech, then flew back out into the now open portal doors.

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 **Thanks for reading guys and remember to follow if you want to know when I update next. And Let me know your thoughts on the chapter or even what you think is going to happen next. It's always fun to hear your guys' theories on stuff.**

 **~Dragon~**


	9. Brave

**OK so. I'm going to be a year older in 4 days. Sarcastic Wooo* Going to be celebrateing at Universal Studios on Friday and working on my actual birthday. Sarcastic Wooo #2* BUT at least I'm still keeping up with this story XD. I think it's going quite well actually. I'm still trying to figure out some stuff like the new characters that are going to be introduced in a few more chapters (hint hint) but other than that, I;m still having fun writing this story. I hope you guys like this next chapter to. It's not really as exciting as the others but it needs to be there to explain some stuff and to set up the next chapter.**

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I woke with a start. I groaned as I lugged myself out of bed. My body protested and I wrapped an arm around my torso felling the bandages there. Huh, I don't remember putting those on. Oh well, there's a ghost somewhere that I need to take care of.

Changing into my ghost half, I looked around the room. What the hell?

"And where do you think you're going?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I whirled around intending to be ready for a fight but the movement jolted the wounds across my chest, and even worse my back. I wrapped my arms around myself hissing at the pain but keeping my eyes on Plasmius. He was in his ghost form, but he was docile.

His hands were crossed in front of him, and he had an eyebrow raised in my direction, but there was no tenseness to his body. He wasn't prepared to attack. I knew that he could change his posture in a moment's notice but to a ghost who often fought others willing to take his life, a moment was all that was needed.

So I didn't move. But I stood ready, glancing around the room every few seconds, looking for ways of escape if they were needed. My body was weak, that much I could feel, so I wouldn't last long if this came to a fight. But where in the heck was I?

The room was familiar, but my memory was fuzzy at best. It looked like a hospital room, but cozier, and it looked as if every machine in the hospital was stuffed into one large room rather than put in seperate ones like they usually do.

"Oh come now Little Badger, you should know I would not attack you while you were under my charge." Plasmius said, changing back into his human half and taking a step toward him. Under his charge? What? I tensed as Vlad reached out to me, as if he intended to lead me back to bed, and he stopped. Sighing he continued. "I promise you Daniel no harm will come to you here. Now let's get you back to the cot so I can re-dress your wounds."

My mind raced with the implications. What was the fruit loop talking about? I looked to him confused and took a step back as he took another forward. His eyebrows furrowed.

"What is it, Daniel?" Vlad asked. Sounding slightly irritated but still with a gentle voice. "I have given my word and you know that I do not take that lightly."

"What? Why-" I tried to ask him what was happening, but the words jumbled in my mouth. Realization seemed to dawn on him.

"What is the last thing you remember?" He asked me. My own brow furrowed in confusion but I thought back, because when a memory didn't come to me immediately, I got suspicious. Did he do something? I concentrated on my thoughts, letting them travel back to before.

For some reason my mind didn't want to. I hesitated, feeling like I wouldn't like the answer, like someone was pleading with me to not look. But I needed to know, so I continued on.

And like a sledgehammer to the chest the memories hit me.

That's why.

I slumped. The thoughts seemed far away, like they had happened years ago. But the dull ache in my chest flared all the same.

"You remember?" Vlad asked taking another slow step towards me. I did nothing to stop him, but nodded in confirmation. "Good." I glanced up confused at the relief in his voice. He explained, "I do not want you trying to go back there Daniel. It would have been dangerous. Not that I would have let you." I scoffed quietly at his words. He started to lead me back with a gentle hand on my shoulder. "But you would have put up quiet the fight, and in your current state you may have hurt yourself further. Not to mention you wouldn't believe me if I tried to explain what brought you here."

It was true. I would have never believed anyone, least of all Vlad, if they told me my parents would have tried to kill me even though they knew that me and my ghost were one in the same. Albeit they didn't believe me, they should have believed me. People like them, my genius parents, they should have known.

I sat down, and laid back as Vlad coaxed me into the possession. I noted that I was my human half again. When had I changed back? Letting the question slip by with a mental shrug, I watched Vlad as he got to work. He unwrapped my the bandages around my chest first, placing an ointment that was cool to the touch and left a tingling sensation as it was spread across my skin. I sighed, letting the ointment seep into my very soul. It felt amazing. My eyes fell closed and my head lolled back against the pillow.

"Better?" Vlad asked as he finished up, wrapping my back in new bandages a few minutes later. I sat up and nodded. "Good." He said. "Now I believe that some washing up is necessary before dinner." I grimace noting that I smelled like week old trash.

I glanced at the clock. It was about twenty minutes till seven. Was it really that late? Had I slept all day?

"You do not need any assistance do you?" Vlad asked almost uncomfortably.

"NO!" I said immediately wincing at my louder-than-intended voice. "No." I said again. "I-I'll be fine. Just… is there anything I could wear?" I asked him looking down at my tattered jeans. Also where is my shirt? I glanced around.

"Yes I will leave it on the bed for you." Vlad said starting to walk to the door. Now come, I will show you where you will be staying" I followed him out of the room, self consciously wrapping my arms around my bare stomach as we walked. Most of my torso was covered but my stomach had already healed the small amount of scares that were there, leaving nothing but tiny white lines that spiderwebbed across my skin. You could barely even tell now which ones were new and which ones were from past ghost fights, they were so well blended in.

We walked up a staircase and down a few halls before we reached a door that Vlad turned into. He didn't bother opening it, just phased through it like it wasn't there. I surprised at the action for a moment hesitating before I grabbed the handle and opened it the regular way, and stepping in.

The room was big. Like, the size of my living room back home big. There were couches set up in the middle, along with a few Lay Z boy chairs facing a coffee table. On the opposite wall there was a large flat screen TV mounted on a wall over a fireplace. The fireplace didn't look like an old fashioned ordinary one though. It was a stark white, modern looking one, with crystal looking pebbles all along the bottom, and flames seeming to ghost over them. Air vents at the top kept any smoke from lingering in the room.

The floor was a rich light brown wood, or it looked like it anyway, but I would find out later that it felt more like tile than it did wood. There was also a carpet laid out under the 'sitting area' as I dubbed it in my head.

Doors were on both sides of the room. And two glass sliding balcony doors laid opposite of the front door that we just came through, on either side of the fireplace. I gapped at the room. This is where he wants me to stay?

"No Daniel." Vlad said and my attention snapped to him "To the left is the bedroom, there is a master bathroom in there that includes a bath, shower, and of course a toilet and sink. It also contains a walk in closet that I'm sure we will have to make use of soon. On the right is another bathroom, but this one only contains a toilet and sink. A guest restroom so to speak, though I doubt that having guests over will be much of a problem for you. At least until you start school and make friends. IF you decide to bring them home that is."

I continued to gape at him. I get this entire thing? Walk-in closets? SCHOOL?

"Tomorrow, if you are feeling well enough perhaps we could go find some clothes for you. If you like that is. Otherwise I could always just send a servant to do the shopping, but your measurements will need to be taken either way. Would you like to go yourself Daniel? Or a servant?"

"Wha- I… I can go." I said trying to get control of all the frantic thoughts running through my head. It was just too much right now.

"Very well. I will make plans for us to go into town tomorrow. As I said the shower is through there." He pointed at the door that is supposedly my bedroom. "And dinner will be served in forty five minutes. I will have someone wait outside you door, in the hall, to lead you to the dinning room when you are ready. Please do not be late dear boy, for the staff will not be able to eat either until we are served. Ta ta for now Little Badger." And just like that he phased back out the door and left me alone.

I stood there for a good few minutes, still taking in my surroundings and letting everything he said sink in. My biggest concern being that he said I would be going to school. I REALLY didn't think that would be a good idea. I would have to talk to Vlad about that at dinner. Until then I'd just have to do as he said. Now let's see about that shower. I feel gross.

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 **Well I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Remember to follow if you want to know when I update next. Thank you all and I'll see you all next time!**

 **~Dragon~**


	10. Together

**I'M SORRY! I know this chapter is late but i might just have to start doing this every other week now regularly anyways. I DO have good reasons though. For one my mom got laid off so I'm trying to help her where I can. Meaning I'm loaning her money and even looking for a new job that pays more and I can work full time at. Also I'm having car troubles that should be fixed by tomorrow and credit troubles (that on is easy to fix but it takes sooooo long.) But ya, BUSY. To make up for it though I sat down and wrote this mega chapter for you guys. Well its mega for me anyway. Hope you guys enjoy it.~**

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I stopped behind the butler behind a wide set of double doors. They looked like doors that should be at the front of some large important building rather than inside a mansion. But I guess that was Vlad for you. Overly excessive to the point where he was eccentric, and rich enough to do it without worry.

The butler, I forget his name, turned to me before opening the door.

"Please refrain from showing disrespect toward the Master. He has been kind enough to allow you to stay here for the time being and it would be terribly rude to not show the proper respect."

I was thrown for a loop. I thought I WAS being respectful. Well, compared to how I have been to him before I was being a saint now. Also, how did this guy even know? I haven't seen him at all. Did Vlad tell him?

"Therefore I will inform you on how to act when meeting him, as it seems you do not know."

Wow. Was all that came to mind.

"When first walking into the room you are to bow your head slightly an-"

The butler droned on, and I listened. If this was how Vlad wanted me to act around him then it was something I would have to do. I owed him that much… and so much more. My mind turned dark, but I stopped myself by listening to the butler once more.

When he was finished he looked me over to make sure I was doing things properly and then nodded to himself as if he was proud that he was able to teach me. Then he stepped back, bringing the doors with him, announcing our presence to the entire room.

I walked in with my head bent slightly towards the floor like the butler had said. It didn't feel right. It felt weak and submissive. I was neither of those things. Well, I didn't think I was before, but now... Suddenly it became much easier to act the way I was told. My head bowed even more than I'm sure was necessary.

It didn't matter though, Vlad was talking to someone on the phone. The conversation seemed heated, and Vlad was angry, like someone had just taken some of Vlad's money and used it on something completely unconventional. I rolled my eyes at the thought.

"Well I said to get the RED ones!" I heard Vlad say. "The blue ones serve a completely different function that will not do for the workers that are involved! Well RETURN them and get the red ones instead and if they do not give you a complete refund then whatever the charge is, it's coming out of your paycheck!" Vlad slammed his phone shut glaring at it a good few seconds before looking up.

I tried to compose myself. I had been somewhere in between gawking at my accurate train of thought from before and laughing at the most seemingly normal thing that Vlad was getting so angry about. It took a lot more for me to get him so angry, him always being calm and collected, but this, it was just so Normal.

Luckily Vlad ignored the small laugh that had bubbled out of my mouth. It was quiet. If anyone had heard it around me then it would have been heard as a breath of air whooshing past my lips. But with our super hearing I know that Vlad for one definitely heard it, and ignored it.

I stayed standing where I was through the entire phone call, my head still bent down and my hands clasped behind my back.

"Welcome Little Badger. Do you feel better?" Vlad asked me. I nodded still not looking up but then remembered I was supposed to verbally answer him always.

"Yes."

"Good." Vlad answer. "Now why are you just standing there, come sit, we'll have dinner served in a moment." He gestured to the chair to his left. He of course sat at the head of the giant table. I consciously stepped forward, keeping my hands clasped and going over the butler's words again to make sure I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't want Vlad to get upset at me after all.

Once I got to the chair I let the butler, who had seemed to just appear out of nowhere having disappeared before, pull my chair back. I sat down and clasped my hands in my lap now as he pushed me in. My eyes never looked to Vlad, but he was silent so I assumed what I was doing was correct.

Soon the dinner is placed in front of us, literally on silver platters. Good smelling steam dissipates through out the room when the silver domes covering the food is lifter away.

"Tonight the cook has prepared seasoned Kobe Beef with a side of sauteed La Bonnotte Potatoes and asparagus as well as a small side of Red Caviar." The butler announced. I stared down at my plate as he said it. Basically it was just steak with potatoes, asparagus, and… fish eggs. I stared down at the shiny red bubus looking eggs that sat on top of my steak. Normally I wouldn't touch it, ever, but here I had no choice. I was supposed to eat without complaint or hesitancy.

So, waiting until Vlad took his first bite, I picked up my fork and slowly shoved some into my mouth trying my best to pretend that something wasn't completely wrong. If I was being honest the eggs weren't all that bad, and the meat was amazing, I was just to grossed out with the fact that I was eating fish eggs to comprehend such thoughts. I was about to shove a second forkful in my mouth when I heard Vlad speak.

"Leave us." He said. The butler bowed and disappeared. I put down my fork shakily, he must have noticed that I was struggling. Great now he's upset. I stared down at my plate, still not looking at him and not saying a word.

"What is wrong Daniel?" Vlad asked. "I know you would never just eat this without some kind of comment or childish fit. Although I DID ask for a simple meal today, this is still far from your tastes." I winced. Did he want me to fail? My brow furrowed in confusion. "Look at me Little Badger." I did.

He didn't look mad or frustrated at all. In fact he looked… worried? I was thrown for a loop for the second time in ten minutes.

"Even with recent events, you were not acting this strange earlier. What has changed?"

"I-I thought you wanted me to act like this?" I said hesitantly. I knew that I was told to not ask questions but right now I was to confused. I need some kind of answers or reassurance that what I was doing was what he wanted.

"Wanted you to? What do you mean Daniel?" His brows were furrowed with confusion, a mirror of my own.

"But. I. The butler-." His eyes suddenly lit with understanding. Vlad reached under the table and I heard a quiet buzz. The butler suddenly walked into the room a moment later, bowing low.

"What is it that you need master?" He asked. Did he just summon the guy with a button? Like in the movies? Cool.

"Sebastian," So that was his name. "Daniel is not a guest here, he is a master." Vlad said like it was the simplest thing in the world. What? The butlers eyes went wide for a moment but he bowed quickly and asked,

"Will he be staying with us indefinitely then, master?"

"For as long as he feels he needs to, yes." Vlad answered.

"And if I may ask," Sebastian hesitated, "What is you relationship?" Vlad paused and looked at me for a moment before deciding what to say.

"He's my son. For all intents and purposes." Vlad's eyes never left me as he said this, they almost seemed to be pleading, but that couldn't have been true. Vlad doesn't 'plead' to anyone for anything.

I had almost choked on my water that I was sipping on as they talked when he said 'son'. I wasn't expecting it. But unusually, it didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth like it used to. Either I was starting to trust the fruitloop or this steak was making 'bad tastes' impossible right now.

Sebastian bowed again before turning to me.

"I apologize for my rude behavior from before, master Daniel. I should not have assumed."

"That's alright." I said quietly, not sure if he was sincere or just doing what was required of him.

"Is there anything else I may get you, masters?" He asked.

"No, but send in someone to collect our plates soon, I believe we are almost done here." Vlad said to him.

"Very well." Sebastian bowed one last time before leaving behind the doors he had come from before. It is quiet for a moment as we continue eating our food. Vlad has all but cleared his plate while I was still only half done. But I felt fuller than I had in a long time. I was never able to eat this much at home.

"Is that all you are going to eat?" Vlad asked when I set down my fork and leaned back in my chair. An obvious sign of 'done.'

"Ya." I said looking down. "It's good, honestly. I just… not used to eating so much. I'm really full." Vlad nodded before continuing on.

"Is there anything else you want to talk about tonight before we retire, Little Badger?" He asked me. I remembered that I wanted to ask him about school.

"You said I had to go to school..?" I started.

"Yes." He said flatley. "School is not an option. You are going." Geeze he sounded more serious than my parents even were about going to school. Usually they didn't care so much about my attendance, just about my grade, which sucked.

"But-"

"No buts. You're going. Education is important, especially for someone of your age and ability." I suddenly became apprehensive.

"What do my ghost abilities have to do with anything?" I said, my brows furrowed. Vlad sighed.

"Your powers are not your only 'ability' Daniel." He said. "I was talking about your intellect. You are very smart, and should be utilizing it to secure yourself a good future. Albeit you will be taken care of should you not have, before, whether it was directly or indirectly by me." And the loop that i had been thrown in multiple times already was back. He thought I was smart? Taken care of?

"Haven't you seen my grades? I'm not very smart." I said deciding to focus on one thing at a time. Vlad chuckled.

"Yes I have seen your horrendous grades my boy. But those are merely reflections of your struggle with fighting so many ghosts, not your true intellect when you focus on something and try your best. I have seen THAT during many of your fights, it truly amazes me sometimes." I amazed him? "And trust me when I say the fighting will stop while you are here. You will have nothing to worry about." I nodded looking down.

As guilty as it made me feel I remember making that promise to myself when I first got here. Before I completely passed out. I didn't want to fight anymore. Not for anyone else sake anyway. If I decide to fight, it will be because I want to. Not because someone else needs my help. I let out a shaky breath. I just hope I'll be able to keep my promise if I ever see anyone in trouble.

"And what do you mean by taken care of?" I asked. It was the next thing on my list to ask. Vlad shook his head as if shaking away whatever he was thinking.

"I would have taken care of you from a distance Little badger, whether you stayed with your parents, or moved out. Your grades suggested that you weren't going to be able to get the best of jobs, and my funds were always open and ready to help you should you have needed it." My mouth hung open as he continued. "Of course I knew you would not have accepted funds from me so I would have just made a few anonymous donations, as I have been doing in the past-"

"Wait what?" I said interrupting him. He sighed again.

"You would be surprised at how much your parents spend on their obsession with ghost hunting." He said. I just stared at him.

"But, we were never hurting for money." I said "So why-"

"Had I not stepped in, your family would have been either on the street or in that hideous RV the very month after we first met." I didn't know what to say, were we really that bad off back then.

"When I first saw how much your parents had been making versus what they were spending I was astonished. I could not understand how people with jobs that make so little were able to not only support a family, but continue to pursue such interests. I found out they had been running off of your family's money for a long time. Did you know both sets of your grandparents were very rich?"

I shook my head no still listening, but having a hard time registering.

"Well they were. But your parent had almost used all of it. At first I laughed, thinking that Jack would be his own downfall. That he might successfully drive your mother away himself, and of course my door would always be open for her." He paused. "But then I thought of you. I didn't want that life for you. There may have been a chance where you AND your mother might have come to me but, there was also a chance that you wouldn't. And for some reason I decided that it was not worth a chance. So anonymously, I offered to 'buy' some of their equipment for a large sum of money.

This of course gave them the idea that selling their equipment might be useful, so they started to develop things other than just what was necessary to catch ghosts but rather things that kept them away as well like shield and the such, and then selling to places around Amity that needed it.

They still didn't make much money and so I stepped in whenever necessary as an anonymous buyer or donater, when I thought it was needed, and that was quite often." Vlad ended his little backstory, if that's what you could call it. "But yes Daniel. I would have always taken care of you." He smiled a small genuine smile at me.

My chest constricted and a tear slipped down my cheek. All this time. I've been hurting him. I've been mean and cruel in my remarks to this man. Sure he did some bad things sometimes, but didn't I also? And I called myself a hero. Yet all this time Vlad has been doing this for me and my family. No, not my family. Just me. I came first is his eyes. I was a new sensation, and it was so surprising and confusing that I could no longer hold in the feelings.

My chest heaved and I buried my face into my hands. Why didn't I see it sooner. I was an Idiot. A cruel messed up kid with a hero complex. I felt arms wrap around me and a hand running their fingers through my hair.

"Now now little badger what is wrong, surely you realise that I would never make you pay me back for such a thing." He said quietly to me, in a soothing voice. I couldn't tell him that he had it wrong. My throat was to constricted to speak.

Instead I just wrapped my arms around him as well and buried my face in his shoulder. I was able to squeak out a hushed 'thank you' before I continued to sob.

We stayed like this for a while. Until I wasn't crying anymore, and the tears on my face had dried. Vlad continued to stroke his hands through my hair and I just sat there leaning against him. At one point I almost fell asleep but I felt him shift and pulled away as he did.

"I believe it is a good time for us to retire now." He said in a hushed voice. I nodded agreeing. I was exhausted. Vlad stood and waited until I did as well before leading me out of the dining room and back up my own room. We said nothing the entire way there and for that I was relieved. I just wanted some peace and quiet right now.

"Goodnight, Little badger." Was all he said as he closed the door to my room behind me after I entered it.

"Goodnight." I whispered, knowing he would still hear it even though he was already walking down the hall towards what I assumed was his room.

* * *

 **Sooooo Wacha thing? Good? Poop? Something between a strangled cat and a melted bowl of ice cream? Let me hear you thoughts. Also, if you're new and want to know when I update next, make sure you follow either me or the story down below. See you guys in the next one.**

 **Dragon~**


	11. That is How He Will Stay

**Hey guys I got another Vlad POV for you this time. I swear I love writing as him, it's so fun. Anyways if you guys happen to notice my grammer is about 10x better than usual, thank Techgirl12. She offered to do some Beta-ing for me and it's helped out a lot. I am very grateful and I'm sure you guys will be as well. Another this is that this chapter was supposed to be a little longer but I couldn't think of a good place to stop if I continued AND I really want to make the next part in Danny's POV anyway. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

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Vlad POV:

A small smile appeared on my face as I heard the water turn on down the hall. Daniel had taken the information I shared with him rather well, better than I had thought he would anyway. He will probably try to convince me not to send him to school though, which was not an option. He was going if I had to drag him there myself.

Daniel needed people, and distraction so that he wouldn't wallow in sadness all day while I was gone for work. I would be going back to work on Monday, same day that Daniel would be starting school. I had taken the week off given the circumstances. You can imagine my secretaries surprise when I made my first vacation call in years.

I recalled each document and form that would be needed to register Daniel. They were all easy enough to get and I should have no problems doing it by Friday. The day I made an appointment to register Daniel. He would be coming along as well of course, so that he could have a say in which classes he wanted to take, though I already had a set list that I think would most support the boy and his future, especially with his intellect.

There would also be a tour afterwards so that Daniel would be able to orientate himself before showing up on Monday. My little badger would be eaten alive by those kids if he where to show up ignorant of his surrounding and not knowing where to go next.

My smile widened at the thought of tomorrow. School shopping with my little badger was going to be infuriating I had no doubt. But I will be doing something fatherly with him. I could not wait.

I made my way to the kitchen and asked what was being prepared for me and Daniel. I was worried, before that a child's dish would have to be requested if the meal was too complicated. Luckily it was a simple enough dish,one that Daniel would not have to much trouble eating without complaint. I might have to convince him to try the fish eggs though. It would not have embarrassed Daniel, but I would have felt embarrassed for him, for him. I so loathe feeling such ways, but luckily the meal would be fine.

I told the chef to stick to simple things for the next week or so before gradually getting into the more complicated dishes again, just so that I could hopefully ease Daniel into them. He agreed without question or complaint, even though I knew he wished to, and I left back out to the dining room. Then I took my seat, and waited.

* * *

I registered the door at the end of the room open, and saw Daniel enter with my butler out of the corner of my eye. They would have to wait a moment though, as of now, I was dealing with an imbecile of an employee. I would have him fired if I didn't realize how hard it was to find personnel of his exact attributes in the industry.

Finishing up the 'conversation', I hung up and looked to my little badger still standing nervously away from the table. I heard a small laugh bubble past his lips at the ending of my call, and had he not looked so nervous I would have smiled. But as it was I didn't want to frighten him off. What has made Daniel so nervous? He wasn't looking at me, and stood with his hands behind his back and head down. It is not something I would expect out of him. He was not one to submit so easily after all.

So instead of prodding him for answers on him mannerisms, I tried to calm him with easier questions, like how he was feeling. Then I invited him to sit down because he obviously wasn't going to just sit himself.

He surprised me once again, by knowing to let my butler pull the seat out for him, and push him in again when he sat. Has Daniel been to formal dinners before? I doubted it.

Soon dinner was served and Sebastian announced the dish while it was uncovered. I (observed) Daniel during this, curious of his reaction. His eyebrows seemed to furrow more with each item named, and his nose crinkled slightly when the fish eggs where mentioned. Just as I thought he was going to need some convincing to try the fish eggs, he surprised me once again.

Daniel's shoulders slightly slumped, he picked up a fork, and shoved some into his mouth. I almost dropped my own fork when he did this. I was hardly ever wrong when it came to Daniel. After a few seconds a look of surprise passed over his face, before he once again became apprehensive of eating the food. Did he not like it? I was an acquired taste after all, but I would have thought Daniel would enjoy it. As he went to take his second bite I sighed, telling Sebastian to leave us.

I asked Daniel what was wrong and after a I told him of my worries he told me he thought it was expected of him to act like this. Why in the Dairy King's name did he think I want him to act like some insignificant, submissive pawn? He was showing every manner of some guest that I don't… care... My thoughts trailed of at it finally hit me.

Daniel confirmed my thoughts stuttering something about the butler. I pressed the button under the table that would summon Sebastian.

Once he got here I explained to him who Daniel was to me. A son, in everything but name. I was a little nervous at saying this in front of Daniel, but he took it in stride,only coughing slightly while drinking his beverage, and said nothing. That made me happier than anything he could have said. Even if he was just doing it to humor me, he accepted the title.

Sebastian quickly apologized, and Daniel accepted it easily. From there I allowed Sebastian to leave, only telling him to send someone to collect our plates soon. He would surely tell the other staff who Daniel was to me, and so I would not have to worry about the others treating him in any way less than a Master.

After a small while I finished with my food, and looking at Daniel, he seemed to have also finished. His plate was not nearly as empty as I wished though. I expressed my concerns to him and he assured me that it was to his liking, but he was not used to eating so much.

That worried me. How much did he usually eat that his stomach could not even eat half of what he was given? He should be eating at least as much as me if not more to account for all the fighting he's been doing. Even with a body as small as his, ghost energy burns through food quite quickly. Even I ate more than what a normal person my size should, and I don't go around fighting every ghost in my path. This would need to change ,but not tonight. It would take some time.

With that in mind I asked if there was anything else he wanted to talk about, not quite wanting to leave him for the night just yet, and clearly he wanted to say something.

I was correct in my earlier assumptions that he would try to convince me to not put him in school,but I would have none of it. I assured him that he would be going to school, andnd even had to assure him of his own intellect. Considering he thought he was not smart just because of his grades.

The conversation turned to a subject I had wished, would stay secret a little while longer, but I had said to much already, and he had caught my words when I said 'taken care of'. This only proved me right about his intellect. He caught things others would not have thought about while focusing on other matters entirely. I would not lie to Daniel if it could be helped. So I explained to him how I had been supporting his family financially for at least a year.

His imbecile of a parents had cost me a pretty penny throughout this time and if I was anyone else I would have had to stop, considering how much they spent a day. Daniel began to cry as soon as I had finished telling him my story. Unable to do anything else, I went and hugged him to me.

Did he think he had to pay me back? It would surely be cause for concern as he could never do such a thing without help. Maybe he thought I would make him work for it myself. I reassured him otherwise. Instead of answering me like I expected, he wrapped his arms around me and whispered a choked, thank you.

I held him like that for a while, my hands stocking through his hair. Calming him to the best of my ability. At one point I had suspected that Daniel had fallen asleep. I was elated that he was comfortable enough around me to let himself sleep, but I did not want to be here all night. So I suggested that we retire. He agreed and I took Daniel back to his room.

* * *

"Come now dear boy, stop fussing, it will only be a little while longer." I told Daniel as he stood on a podium with his arms spread in a T form so that the clerks could take his measurements.

I watched the boy squirm as the tape measure was pressed against his chest and wrapped around his body. It would be comical, had I not noticed how his eyes flashed green and he flinched every now and then when the seamstress touched certain areas of his body.

He was obviously not used to being in contact with others, unless they were trying to kill or capture him. I must admit that Daniel was very good at hiding the full extent of his discomfort, but I could not blame him for squirming every now and then.

Daniel glared down at me for my words, I merely smirked at him in turn causing him to grit his teeth and almost snarl at me. Which successfully distracted the boy while the employee (or employees or tailor/s) did his/their job. I heard him grumble something under his breath and huff.

"What was that dear boy?" I asked with my hands professionally clasped behind my back.

"Nothin'." He answered with another glare in my direction.

"Why Little Badger, with that attitude I don't think we'll ever make it to the observatory today." I told him my smirk still in place.

"What?" He said with wide eyes, his attention now solely on me.

"I did plan on bringing you to the observatory nearby, but with the way you are acting it looks as if we won't get to go." we stared at each other for a while, daniel in some kind of state of awe, while I just continued to smirk at him.

"Fine." He mumbled lowering his eyes. By the time our conversation was over, the seamstress had successfully finished all the measurement she needed. He looked mildly surprised at this and lowered his arms hesitantly. I watched as his eyes widened and he looked back at me. He must have figured out what I was doing finally.

"Wait… Did you-...Vlad?" Daniel was at a loss for words.

"As a reward." I told him once the seamstress left to go collect a few sample suits and a catalog for us to look at.

"For what?" He asked still surprised. Before I could answer him, the seamstress wondered back over with a number of suites draped over her arms, and the catalog balanced expertely on top of them all.

And now the fun begins.

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 **What did you guys think? Let me know. If you want to know when I update next make sure you follow down below. I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you guys in the next one**

 **~Dragon~**


	12. Authors Note

**Hey guys,**

 **Sorry if you got your hopes up about me updating but this isn't another chapter. I SWEAR I'm not giving up on writing I just have had to much going on.**

 **I lost my job, my mom lost her job, we had to move houses, and I had to go up to the valley for something with my dad, my car was having problems and I'm about to start college.**

 **So ya, a lot of stuff going on that I needed to figure out and now that school is starting I need to focus on that. Maybe once I settled in with my schedule and I can pick the story back up while I'm not busy.**

 **But please be patient because honestly it got to the point were I forgot I was even writing this at all and now I'm just trying to get everything back together.**

 **Anyways sorry again guys I just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive and I haven't given up I'm just... busy.**


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